Undergarment



Sept. 12, 195o S. J. WOODRUFF UNDERGARMENT Filed Aug. 25, 1948 lNvEm-QR Sams J. WOODRUFF Patented Sept. l2, 95

Sadie J. Woodruff, Asbury arlaMfJ., assigner to The H & W Companyghlewark, N. J., a `corpo- V ration of New Jersey Application August 25, 1948;v SeriaINolv 46,015

1 This invention relates to undergarments for women, more particularly to a brassire.

One object of the invention is a new and improved garment of the character set forth that is particularly useful for wear by mothers.

Still another object is a brassire which is characterized by its simplicity in design, its easy and comfortable wear, and the economy with which it may be manufactured.

These and other objects will become more apparent in the following description and accompanying drawing forming part of this application.

In the drawingsl Figi is a perspective view of a garment embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of the inner side of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are front and rear elevations of one portion of the garment shown in Figs-1 and 2.

In one aspect the invention resides in a readily convertible brassire which may be worn by mothers when nursing with marked comfort and complete protection against leaky breasts and which may be readily adapted to comfortable wear when not nursing by a simple conversion change.

More particularly the undergarment in accordance with this invention embodies, among other new and improved features, an outer portion forming a complete brassire in itself for ordinary wear and including suitable breast pocket structures and inner readily removable breast protective portions fastened to strips forming parts of the lower reinforced border edge of the garment.

Referring to the figures, this new and improved garment is provided with two pockets III--I Il adapted to receive the breasts. The inner meeting edges of the pockets are joined by a zipper I4 extending downwardly to a, point below or approximating the lower breast lines.

Each pocket I may be formed of a single piece of material and shaped in the desired manner by means of darts I6". In the present embodiment three such darts are provided in each pocket.

The lower front portion of the garment comprises a narrow border edge part I2 and a part I0 intermediate the pockets II) and border I2. In the particular embodiment shown the parts I0' are formed integrally with the pockets l0 and are fastened together along their meeting edges at I3 in line with the zipper I4. The border I2 tapers slightly in width from its center.

1 claim. (c1. 12s- 289) l wside-.andback `portions ofthe garment comprise corresponding panels or sections I6 and I8l the latterrbeing fastened to the outer sides of the pockets I0,` with the lefthand section I8 (Fig. f2)k having -a short strip of elastic or other si-rnilarinaterial 20 having eyelets 22 thereon for engagement with corresponding hooks 24 on the righthandlsection I8. .The sections I6 and I8 are connected to the pocket I0 by suitably lined seams I6 to prevent raw edges of the material from chaiing the wearer. The adjoining sections IS-and I8 kori each side in the present embodi-v ment are formed of a single piece of material withA a;-pleat I8 inthe center thereof. The upper and lower edges 26 and 28 of the pockets Ill and their adjoining sections as well as the lower edge 30 of the front border strip are provided with any suitable finish. The side sections I6, I8 and the outer portions of pockets are formed so that the upper edges thereof form a continuous line tapering gently and uniformly downward to form a narrow back part.

In addition to the elastic member 2D in the back of the garment, elastic triangular inserts 32 are provided at the ends of the front border strip I2 and form in effect part of the sections I6. These inserts 32 extend above the border I2 and are fastened to the front portions IIJ'. In this way additional exibility is provided in line with the border I2 and front portions I0. The shoulder supports for the garment comprise a pair of adjustable straps 34 secured at one end to the peaks of the pockets I0 located approximately over the centerline of the breasts and at the other end to the upper edge of the section I8. By adjusting these straps the desired support can readily be attained.

The brassire is provided with inner readily removable breast covering portions 36 for protection against leaky breasts, these portions being of flannel or other suitable absorbent material. These protective portions 36 are fastened to and supported by an inner front strip I2' which is fastened to the inner side of border strip I2. It is wider than the border I2 and therefore extends up above the upper edge thereof, being fastened to the front portion I0 along the lines 50 and 5I. The upper edge of the strip I2 is reinforced by a narrow strip 46 on its inner edge and male snap fasteners 48 are incorporated in this reinforced edge on its inner side. The protective portions 36 are provided with lower straight edges 38 which are reinforced by narrow strips 46 with female parts 48 of snap fasteners incorporated therein. The' The protective portions are thus fastened to*- and carried by the border strip l2 and arevstructurally independent of the pockets IU but protect the garment against soiling iorrwe'ttingfromthe breasts. With the protective'elementsdetaohed and removed the garment may be worn by the mother with the same comfortsas` with convenj.

tional brassires.

means is completely covered to protect the wearer and comfortably support the breasts. The protective pockets 3S are provided with straps 44 for the purpose of adding additional absorptive pads of gauze or sterile dressing, readily removable for renewal.

What I claim is:

A' vbrassire 'wearable-fintrchangeably Vby nursing mothers and Women Lgenerally comprising breast supporting parts with means for readily opening and closing the breast supporting parts,

. said brassire comprising a narrow front rein- It is to be noted also that With this nvlf and improved construction for an undergarment the wearer can not only 'obtain adequate and sere support Afor the breasts, but 'can alsoreadily and easily expose one or the other lof them for nursi'ng, changing dressings and the like. Moreover, With-the use of the removable protective portions better and completeprotection is obtained and they can easily be changed without changing the garment. They are also securely held imposition in the garment and will not slip or get outl of position even when the'garmentis opened. With this construction the protective portions. lcan be securely fastened in `place 'without danger of 'displacement While being worn. Moreover, by reas'on of the particular structure, the f'astening forcing band at the bottom of 'the breast support- 'ing partsvv having fan-inner part whose upper edge is uri/attached Etothe adjacent part, said inner parthaving readily detachable fastening means falong. Iits upper edge for readily receiving in a detachable manner protective inner pockets extending' upwardly to points adjacent the upper portions of the breast stipporting parts, and protectivepckets se'cre'd to the brassire lonlyl along said narrow 'reinforcing band. l y

SADIEJ. WOODRUFF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of Vrecord in 'the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 296,905 VStrau's's' Aug. 13, V1878 1,979,576 Rosenthal NOV. 6, v193i! 1,989,382 Schnaittacher Jan. '29, '1935 

